Nova Scotia planner victim of homicide

A Nova Scotia financial planner has been identified as the victim of a homicide.

Jim Matthews, co-founder of Matthews McDonough Financial Planning Inc. in Halifax, was found dead in his apartment in Sydney, N.S., on Tuesday.

Matthews, who was 54 years old, split his time between Halifax and Cape Breton, and was part-owner of the building where his body was discovered.

Matthews, a coal miner's son originally from Sydney Mines, had a passion for revitalizing Sydney's downtown core and the economy.

He owned several office buildings in the city, including the popular Prince Street Market.

Matthews' long-time business partner, John Tompkins, said Matthews was a genuine and thoughtful person.

"It's relationships Jim should be remembered for and how much he cared about people," Tompkins said in an interview at his office Thursday. "With his clients, it was always about putting them first and doing the right thing."

Tompkins said contacting Matthews' former clients has been "incredibly heartwarming."

"It was the worst of humanity in terms of what we believe may have happened to him," he said. "But we've seen the best of humanity from people and that's because of the relationships Jim had with people."